My problems with shonen rom-com
Like most guys, I mostly read Shonen manga. While I’m not the biggest fan of action Shonen. Although there are some good ones, I mainly read shonen rom-com. They are entertaining, but they never felt truly satisfy. The characters only confess after 200+ chapters of hehe funny shenanigans. Then the series just end, with 2 pages to say good bye to the characters . I’m convinced that rom-com authors must think that there’s no love beyond confession.
Don’t even get me start on harem manga. Jesus Christ, these people are allergic to a proper love triangle. Take Nisekoi for instance, at the start there are only two girls, perfectly reasonable. But then, he decide to introduce another girl. “Sure I let this one slide, she is only a comedic relief character anyway”. But then, he introduce another one, then another one… I’m loosing it chapter by chapter. These people don’t know how to progress the story nor how to write woman. Look, I’m not saying that everything needs to be “good”, I still enjoy a trashy rom-com every now and then. They have cute characters, pretty art, and a simple story that is not mentally taxing to follow.
Of course there are some exception. My favorite is “Kaguya-sama-love is war”. Purely because Aka Akasaka went extra mile after the confesion and the group feels like actual friends. Although the way he resolve the final conflict is more on the comedic side, but I appreciate it nonetheless. “The fragrant flowers bloom with dignity” was also pretty good. There was plenty of intimacy moment and they actually trying to know each others. These series should be the bare minimum for rom-com but in reality they are the exception not the norm.
What about normal shonen romance then, let’s remove the comedy tag to see it will solve anything. The answer is yes, there are some amazing works like “a silence voice”, “3 days of happiness”, etc. However they are focus more on the drama, life lesson side of thing rather than telling a love story.
When searching for a different flavor of romance. That’s when I came across this video “I Forced Myself to Read Shojo Manga”. I got hook when he talk about Yona of the Dawn. Apparently, it is the highest rated Shojo of all time and I’ve never heard of it even once. 40 volumes later, and this might be the best thing I have every read.
You know the f**k up thing is? “Rent a girlfriend” has 3 season and probably will get more in the future. This never got a season 2. I am literally in tears right now.
My first manga: Yona of the dawn.
I can write about this series till next year. I purposely not keeping up with the latest chapter to wait for the ending drop. Then I will re-read everything and give my full thought in the future. But here are some of the things I really enjoy. - The characters: Let’s start with Yona first. Often in shonen the main character get stronger and they solve everything using their power. To me that’s kind of pathetic. Problems doesn’t go away just because you are the strongest. What I like is, even though Yona has 5 strongest dudes by her side. This series managed to make her shine the brightest. Everyone else is great too but let’s save it for another time. - World building: The world of “Yona of the Dawn” is genuinely intriguing. It has many factions, areas and nations each have their own of operate. Everything really feel alive and not just a place to tell the main character stories. Through Yona eyes, we gets to see this amazing world bit by bit - The romance sub plot: It is somehow better than some story that only focus on romance. It very much enhance the characters. The feelings of these characters can not sum up using a simple diagram. Yona for example always feeling for Su-Won but it evolve as the story goes on. It change from innocent crush to hatred yet still longing for the past. Love is complex as the people are, and this series fully encapsulated that - The fluffy feelings that are indescribable: Every time Hak get close I can feel my chest getting tighter. It’s a bit weird at first, but I’m fully embrace it now XD. Not gonna lie, it kind of awoke something in me. I also want to be hugged and cared by people around. I’m straight, I swear, If not my parents is gonna kill me XD. - The author notes: The official English release also translated the author notes. Most of the time, it gave great insight into the creating process, others time it just really fun. I remember one chapter she just straight up talks about her favorite TV show. It feels like a fun blog in the middle of your manga.
Yona also really opened up the world of shojo manga for me. With Shonen there are a lot of “good” series but the incredible one are so few and far in between. For example, something like HxH, how many shonen series can we confidently say that are up to that level? Not many, I can’t even name 3 on top of my head. With shojo there are so much series that tick all the right boxes. The fact that there is a sea full of stories like this make me so exciting.
My 2nd manga: Colette just want to die
I binge everything available within 2 days. This time I read the Fan Translation, it stops at Vol. 15. It was really good. On the surface the stories can not be more simple, just cute, wholesome Romance. But the attention to details is impeccable. It’s like you turn the cuteness dial up to eleven, even the skeleton are cute. All the gods, are very likable while still maintaining their quirkiness from the lore. There’s a lot of life lesson as well. Although, they are presented in a very light-hearted way and not on the nose like some often series do. Romance wise, as usual you can always count of shojo to deliver intimacy, couple’s moments. I’m super excited for the official release coming soon can’t wait to read the ending.
My 3rd manga: Sailor moon
As of now I only read the first two volume and holy f**k everything move so fast. In the span of 2 volume, we manage to gather all 4 sailors, awoken everyone’s power, beat the bad guy and reveal the sad back stories. But the most shocking of all, sailor moon meet tuxedo mask and they immediately recognize their feeling for each others. If this was written by a Shonen Jump author you bet it would take 200 chapter to do these things.
I like pretty much everything as of now. Maybe the eyes are too big for my taste but that’s about it. I think I will switch over to the anime, should be even more magical with all the colors. It’s definitely harder to read this, because of the overdosing magical girl energy. You can tell the story is a bit dated but I’m sure younger me will read it just fine.
My 4th manga: In the clear moonlit dusk
This one is a bit weird for me. Overall I still very much enjoy it. the main girl is so cute but she definitely take less initiation than the others shojo protagonist that I read. This time is the main guy who doing all the attack. I have a few problems with him. First, he look like douche bag not gonna lie. Still hot, but I definitely like the guy working with her more. Second of all, he’s a bit too aggressive for my taste. Do girls like that? I’m confuse. Cause what I like about Hak or Hades is that they are very considerate.
I’m currently up to date with the latest English volume. Genuinely hope for their breakup so the other guy have a chance. Yes I’m evil, I know.
Some series I struggle to get into.
A condition call love. Okay, the guy is just too much. I know that’s the whole point but its can be unbearable as a guy to read this. It hit too close to home for me and definitely a lot of boy out there. When you really like someone, you do the cringiest thing ever. Probably try to pick it up again one day when I’m really sad, and loose all hope in love. This is on the same level of depression as Evangelion for me. Got to savor it for a rainy day.
What’s next
There are many great work I want to read in the future. Unfortunately, I rarely got in the mood to read something serious. Most of the time, I read mid stuff just for entertainment. This is also my last summer before graduating from uni. I’m not sure if I could find the time once I start working.
What’s shojo currently on my list - Chihayafuru - Natsume book of friends - Basara - 7 seeds - Skip beat - Nana - Cardcaptor Sakura
These are all incredibly long and require huge commitment. I know its worth it, just need to find the time.
What I realize
After a few month of reading shojo. I recognized that I liked female author works more in general, regardless of the demographic it targeted. Series like ” Delicious in Dungeon”, “Frieren”, “The fragrant flower” are all written by female author and they are all amazing.
This is not to say that men can not write good stories. More and more girls enjoy shonen nowadays for good reasons. They are good at hyping thing up and entertain us. But what I like more about female creator is they portrait believable relationship, especially in romance and they have amazing attention to details. As usual good stuffs are good bad stuff are bad. I always try to judge things on a per series basis. Generalize a whole gerne or even a whole demographic is not a good thing.
Every demographic has something to offer. This expedient make me very excited to read some Josei manga one day. I’m sure it will fill with profound stories like with Seinen. Maybe even check out some BL manga oneday. I heard that 10 dance and banana fish is great.
That’s it. I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts. Have a nice day!!